NEW YORK — U.S. disease control experts and leading eye doctors have formally concluded that Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc was the only contact lens solution contributing to an outbreak of potentially blinding fungal eye infections this year.

But the researchers' report, which is to be published Wednesday, says that it remains unclear how the product causes the problems. An accompanying commentary by two academic researchers argues that further study is needed on the safety of the entire class of "multipurpose" lens-care solutions that Bausch and others have developed. Such products clean, store and moisten soft contact lenses.

The infections showed up in Asia last year and peaked in the United States this spring shortly after Bausch withdrew MoistureLoc from the domestic market April 13. Bausch announced a worldwide recall a month later. The debacle caused the company's stock and profit forecasts to plunge.

In some ways, the analysis, to be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was mildly positive news for Bausch. The number of confirmed new infection cases has slowed to a trickle since the recall.

The analysis also found no evidence of unusual risks with ReNu MultiPlus, an older multipurpose Bausch solution. Since the recall, the company has been counting on renewed growth of MultiPlus to rebuild its formerly lucrative lens care business. "We think the report confirms that Bausch & Lomb took the right action in the interests of consumer health and safety by recalling the MoistureLoc product, and that Bausch & Lomb can continue to recommend its ReNuMultiPlus solution with confidence," the company said in an e-mail response to questions about the report.

The medical journal's data analysis was based on 164 confirmed cases of Fusarium fungus eye infections in the United States from the beginning of June 2005 to the end of June this year. The analysis concluded that more than one-third of the patients had suffered damage to one or both eyes serious enough to require corneal transplants.

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The report challenged the company's argument that a major factor in the outbreak was the failure of customers to clean their lenses properly and to replace the storage solution regularly. The researchers found some evidence that topping off lens care solutions instead of replacing them increased the risk of fungal infection. But they said that in other respects there was no difference between the practices of those infected and those who remained healthy.

"Practicing good contact lens hygiene is a prudent and common-sense measure for all contact lens wearers, irrespective of contact lens solution used," said Dr. Douglas Chang, a fungal disease specialist at the Centers for Disease Control who was lead author of the report. "However, the most important message for contact lens wearers is to stop using MoistureLoc, and throw out any MoistureLoc solution purchased before the recall."

Bausch is a long way from putting the debacle behind it. Two weeks ago, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that pretax profit this year would fall to $80 million or less, a 78 percent drop from last year and far below Wall Street's estimates. The expenses of the recall and efforts to rebuild market share are also expected to hurt earnings and sales in 2007. The company is facing numerous consumer lawsuits linked to the outbreaks.

Fusarium is a widely distributed family of fungi, particularly in tropical climates. In the past, the most common victims of Fusarium infections have been agricultural workers or others in rural areas who may scratch an eye with a twig or another plant harboring the fungus.